Communication Policy of RBI

Department of Communication
Reserve Bank of India
July 2021
 Table of Contents

Para no. Content Page

I Introduction 2
II Objectives 2
III The Goals 3
IV The Principles 4
V Aspects of Communication 4
V. a Monetary Policy Communication 5
V. b Financial Stability communication 5
V. c Communication relating to other functional domains 6
V. d Communication during times of crisis 6
V. e Dissemination through flagship publications 6
V. f RBI staff as ambassadors of RBI 6
VI Two-way Communication 7
VII Operational Practices 7
VIII Responsibility for Communication 8
IX Review 8
Annex 9-12

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 Communication Policy of the Reserve Bank of India
(Version 2.0, July 2021)

I. Introduction
Communication is a key element in functioning of modern central banks, who
are placing greater emphasis on transparency and accountability. The increasing
preference for a collegial method of monetary policy decision making and thrust on
financial stability have laid more emphasis on structured policies/strategies for
communication in the realm of central banking.

2. The Reserve Bank’s communication policy follows the guiding principles of

relevance, transparency, clarity, comprehensiveness and timeliness: it strives to
continuously improve public understanding of developments in the multiple domains
under its ambit.

II. Objectives
3. The framework of central banking policy in India has evolved around its
objectives specified under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, viz. “to regulate the
issue of Bank notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability
in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its
advantage; and to operate a modern monetary policy framework to meet the
challenge of an increasingly complex economy, where the primary objective is to
maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth.”

4. Consistent with the above, the Reserve Bank’s macroeconomic and monetary
policy has focussed on maintaining price stability, ensuring adequate flow of credit to
sustain the growth momentum, and securing financial stability. The financial stability
objective are enabled by the powers vested with it for regulation and supervision of
the Indian financial system and its constituents, the money, debt and foreign
exchange segments of the financial markets and the country’s payment and
settlement system support. These are augmented by the critical functions relating to
maintenance of foreign exchange reserves and the role as the lender of last resort.
The Reserve Bank pursues its core function of issuance of bank notes and currency
management as well as its agency functions such as management of public debt,
banker to Government (Centre and States) and banker to the banking system,
including regulation of bank reserves. As a full-service central bank, it also propels

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the development and consolidation of the country’s financial system and supports
inclusive growth.

5. The Reserve Bank’s approach is to communicate its policy stance and its
assessment of the evolving situation by providing rationale as well as supporting
information and analysis to all stakeholders.

6. In its medium-term Vision Statement for 2019-22, termed as ‘Utkarsh 2022’,

the Reserve Bank has set out for itself the following mutually reinforcing objectives:
i) excellence in performance of statutory and other functions;
ii) strengthened trust of citizens and other institutions in the RBI;
iii) enhanced relevance and significance in national and global roles;
iv) transparent, accountable and ethics-driven internal governance;
v) best-in-class and environment friendly digital as well as physical infrastructure;
and
vi) innovative, dynamic and skilled human resources.

7. The strategies to meet these objectives are essentially well-thought-out

actions to consolidate gains of the past, capitalise on emerging opportunities and
meet future challenges. The strategic goals are aimed to be achieved through one or
more tangible and time-bound milestones.

III. The Goals

8. Transparent communication, clear interpretation and accurate articulation of
the multifarious objectives of the Reserve Bank are the goals of its communication
policy. The composite mandate necessitates open, clear and structured
communication for its effective functioning as well as for supporting the expanding
boundaries of its policy instruments.

9. The communication policy of the Reserve Bank has the following principal
goals:
i) providing clarity on its role and responsibilities;
ii) building confidence in its policy measures;
iii) improving transparency and accountability;
iv) anchoring expectations of all economic agents to enhance the efficacy of
monetary policy and to minimise undue speculation;
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 v) increasing awareness about financial stability;
vi) dissemination of information with minimum time lag;
vii) ensuring timeliness and credibility through effective communication; and
viii) deepening engagement with the multi-lingual and multi-cultural society.

IV. The Principles

10. The above broad goals of communication policy are pursued through the
following guiding principles:
i) elucidation of the policy stance with rationale, information and analysis;
ii) coherence and credibility in articulation through structured and periodic
statements, speeches of the top management, statutory and other regular
publications, research publication, committee reports as well as dissemination
of regular information on important developments;
iii) disseminate customised communication depending on the target audience (e.g.,
regulated entities, researchers, analysts, academics, rating agencies, media,
other central banks, multilateral institutions, market participants, Government
agencies and the members of public including women, senior citizens, defence
personnel and school children in both urban and rural areas) through public
awareness initiatives and microsite on the RBI website in eleven major regional
languages apart from Hindi and English;
iv) dissemination of market related information on near real time basis through the
website;
v) dissemination of important information emanating from the Reserve Bank
through social media; and
vi) Pre-announcement of the dates of future structured communication through
advance release calendars to bring predictability.

V. Aspects of Communication:
11. The Communication Aspects of the Reserve Bank includes strategies on:
i) Monetary Policy communication;
ii) Financial Stability communication;
iii) Communication relating to other functional domains;
iv) Communication during times of crisis;
v) Dissemination through flagship publications; and

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 vi) RBI staff as ambassadors of RBI.

a) Monetary Policy communication

12. The Reserve Bank explains the monetary policy measures and stance with the
rationale, information and analysis to enable market participants and other
stakeholders to provide clarity about its assessment of the evolving situation. The
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 was amended in 2016 to provide statutory basis for
a monetary policy framework, the MPC and the inflation target to be set by the
Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, once in every five years.

13. The monetary policy framework aims at (a) setting the policy (repo) rate based
on an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation and, (b)
modulation of liquidity conditions on a day-to-day basis through appropriate actions
to anchor money market rates. The operating framework responds to the evolving
monetary and financial market conditions, consistent with the monetary policy stance.
The Reserve Bank also holds pre-policy consultations with economists, bankers,
industry groups and other stakeholders to ascertain their views on aggregate / sector-
specific assessments and their policy expectations.

14. The resolution of the MPC is released on the Bank’s website and other
communication channels, followed by a press conference that is broadcast live on
various public media platforms. In the spirit of transparency, the data used in
monetary policy formulation are put in public domain after the release of the MPC
resolution.

b) Financial Stability communication

15. The Reserve Bank’s communication on financial stability has the following
broad dimensions:
i) publication of the statutory annual report on ‘Trend and Progress of Banking in
India’ and half-yearly ‘Financial Stability Report’, to provide an assessment of
performance of the Indian banking system as well as the soundness, risks and
resilience of the Indian financial system, supplemented by press releases on
important developments in the financial sector;
ii) organising informal press briefings and media workshops, at both central and
regional office levels, to explain the supervisory and regulatory aspects

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 pertaining to the financial sector and to help explaining macro-prudential policy
actions to stakeholders; and
iii) making communication an integral part of financial stability framework to
highlight the underlying messages, beyond data and measures, to the broader
audience and developing communication capacity by keeping all stakeholders
apprised of the developments in the financial sector.

c) Communication relating to other functional domains

16. The Reserve Bank releases information on the macroeconomic conditions as
well as developments in the regulatory and other domains mentioned in para 4 above
through traditional and non-traditional channels (e.g., press releases, notifications,
publications – regular and occasional and multi-media public awareness initiatives).
Speeches, press conferences and media interviews of the Top Management
articulate Bank’s view on issues of importance. For equitable distribution of market
sensitive information, the Reserve Bank uses embargoed releases through news
agencies.

d) Communication during times of crisis

17. In an event of unexpected and sudden detrimental situation arising in the
economy, and particularly in the financial sector, the primary objective of the Reserve
Bank is to move quickly with relevant policy response, give assurance to mitigate the
situation and remove any undue speculation. In such times, internal communication
is as important as external communication.

e) Dissemination through flagship publications

18. All major publications of the Reserve Bank are released on its website to
ensure simultaneous reach of information to all the stakeholders. The statutory
publications include the Bank’s ‘Annual Report’, the ‘Report on Trend and Progress
of Banking in India’ and the ‘Monetary Policy Report’. The list of important publications
is given in Annex.

f) RBI Staff as Ambassadors of RBI

19. The staff of the Reserve Bank are its ambassadors for creating awareness on
issues, which are important for the society: their communication is structured, with
internal approvals, to obviate any reputational risk. Only the authorised staff can
communicate on the affairs of the Reserve Bank to the press. Independent research

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papers and documents on focussed topics, contributed by RBI staff members, are
released on its website with relevant disclaimer.

VI. Two-way Communication

20. The Reserve Bank has established the practice of two-way communication.
Consultation with stakeholders generally precedes introduction of any new regulation
or a major change in existing regulation. Its website is a major channel for two-way
communication, which is supplemented by the social media channels and a mobile
application of the website. It conducts workshops for regional media to demystify
policy making and to facilitate informed reporting by the regional press. The Bank has
open channels for responding to queries from the stakeholders and the members of
public. Given the preference for general dissemination over responding to individual
requests, more frequent queries are responded on the website under the ‘frequently
asked questions’ section for different domains.

VII. Operational Practices

21. The Reserve Bank has formulated broad internal guidelines and operational
practices for communication from the perspective of the organisation and goals of
communication. These are:
i) The Directors of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank do not communicate or
divulge any matter or information, which may come to their knowledge as
members of the Central Board or its Committees.
ii) The Governor and the Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy are the
only spokespersons on issues relating to monetary and exchange rate policy;
iii) Deputy Governors are the spokespersons in their respective areas of
responsibility;
iv) Executive Directors and Heads of Departments speak in their respective domain
with explicit authority from the Governor/Deputy Governors;
v) Regional Directors clarify local issues;
vi) Ombudsmen speak on local grievance redressal issues;
vii) The head of the Department of Communication (DoC) is the general
spokesperson of the Reserve Bank;
viii) All press releases except those relating to regional matters – which are rare –
are centrally issued by the Department of Communication;

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 ix) All information releases – in print or digital form – are placed in public domain
simultaneously.

VIII. Responsibility for Communication

22. Good external communication assumes intensive internal coordination
between different departments/offices and the DoC, which is the nodal department in
RBI for external communication. Media persons and others having queries or seeking
clarification connect with the DoC.

IX. Review
23. Communication is a dynamic process and it keeps evolving with the changing
times and situations. As such, the Bank’s Communication Policy will be reviewed
every three years, unless a situation warrants its review earlier.
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 Annex
Publications of Reserve Bank of India

1. Publications/ Reports
i) Annual Report
The Annual Report of the Reserve Bank is a statutory publication released within two
months from the close of annual accounts. It is a report by the Central Board on the
state of the economy, the working of the Bank during the year and the balance sheet
of the Reserve Bank. It also presents an assessment of the Indian economy and its
prospects in the period ahead.

ii) Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India

This is also a statutory annual publication of the Bank, which reviews the policies for
and performance of the financial sector. The publication covers the data from April
to March and is generally released around November/December every year.

iii) Monetary Policy Report

It is a bi-annual statutory publication of the Bank, generally released in April and
October. It gives the macroeconomic outlook and forecasts on growth and inflation.
It also covers the balance of risks, prices and costs, financial market and liquidity
conditions and the developments in external global environment.

iv) Financial Stability Report

It is a bi-annual Report that is being published since Global financial crisis and its
aftermath, i.e., March 2010 onwards. It provides an assessment of stability of India's
financial system; reviews the nature, magnitude and implications of risks; results of
stress tests and resilience; provides key signal for pre-emptive policy responses and
mentions ways for development and regulation of the financial sector.

v) State Finances: A Study of Budgets

A thematically dedicated release, this publication provides a comprehensive
analytical assessment of the finances of all State Governments. Consolidated data
of all State Governments are analysed in addition to State-wise analysis to draw
policy implications. It contains an analysis of fiscal position at the sub-national level,
assessment of risks, progress on the targets under the Fiscal Responsibility and
Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003. It is widely referred by Central/State
governments, international institutions such as IMF, and academicians.

vi) Reserve Bank of India Bulletin and its Weekly Statistical Supplement
The monthly RBI Bulletin publishes the Monetary Policy Statements, Top
management speeches, research articles, current statistics on key monetary and
financial indicators, first data release on forex market intervention and other areas
that may be of topical interest. Other useful inclusions in the Bulletin are important
press releases and circulars issued by different departments of the Reserve Bank
and data relating to economy, finance and banking.

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Major reports released by the Bank, including the Annual Report and the Report on
Trend and Progress of Banking in India are issued as supplements to this monthly
publication.

The weekly statistical supplement (WSS) to the Monthly RBI Bulletin is a premier
high frequency data dissemination source and publishes information like major items
of the RBI balance sheet, reserve position, consolidated balance sheet of scheduled
commercial banks, monetary and financial market indicators and market borrowings
of the Government. The document is usually released in the evening of every Friday.

2. Statistical Publications
Major data publications of the Bank include:
i) Handbook of Statistics on Indian States
It is a comprehensive single point dataset that contains socio-economic
indicators of States covering their social and demographic characteristics. It
covers key economic sectors including banking and is useful for researchers,
academic circles and state governments.

ii) Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy

This document comprises dataset on a longer time horizon. It is a real-time
on-line version (available on web-portal DBIE). The publication provides time-
series data (annual/quarterly/monthly/fortnightly/daily) pertaining to a broad
spectrum of economic variables pertaining to data on national income, output
and prices, money and banking, financial markets, public finance, trade and
balance of payments, currency and coinage and socio-economic indicators.

iii) Basic Statistical Returns

The Basic Statistical Return (BSR) publications consists of (a) bank credit
classified according to occupation/activity and organisational sector of the
borrower, type of account, and interest rates (BSR-1) on quarterly basis; (b)
ownership and maturity pattern of bank deposits as well as employment
details (BSR-2) on annual basis; and (c) bank credit and deposits as per
geography and type (BSR-7) on quarterly basis.

iv) Statistical Tables Relating to Banks in India

This comprises banks' annual statements and contains key information on
banks’ performance. It covers SCBs, rural co-operative banks, NBFCs, FIs
and PDs. The document publishes balance sheet and financial indicators of
these entities and gives progress on regulatory norms like CRAR, priority
sector lending. The data are presented bank group-wise and state-wise. It is
the only publication that provides bank-level data.

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 v) Surveys
The Bank conducts the following regular quick surveys, the results of which
are presented to the MPC and are subsequently released in the public
domain:
i) Industrial outlook survey (IOS) of manufacturing sector – quarterly
ii) Order book, inventory and capacity utilisation survey (OBICUS) of
manufacturing sector – quarterly
iii) Services and Infrastructure outlook survey (SIOS) – quarterly
iv) Inflation expectations survey of households (IESH) – bi-monthly
v) Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) – bi-monthly
vi) Survey of professional forecasters (SPF) – bi-monthly

The results of these surveys are released immediately after the release of resolution
of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Unit level data of the household surveys
(i.e., IESH and CCS) are also released to promote research.

3. Research Publications
i) RBI Occasional Papers
These are quarterly research journals that cover subjects of topical interest.
They comprise contributions from staff and reflect their views. Working papers
are research work in progress of staff that are published to elicit comments
and further debates on the subject under study. These documents are
referred by researchers, academia and media.

ii) RBI Working Papers

The RBI Working Papers series, introduced in March 2011, presents research
in progress of the staff members of RBI and are disseminated to elicit
comments and further debate. The views expressed in these papers are those
of authors and not that of RBI.

iii) Development Research Group (DRG) Studies

These studies serve as accent on policy-oriented research and cover subjects
of topical interest. They are primarily contributed by the Bank’s research staff
in collaboration with outside experts. They are released for wider circulation
as also to generate discussion among professional economists and policy
makers.

iv) Mint Street Memos

Mint Street Memos (MSM) is a series of documents that are in the form of
brief reports and analysis on contemporary topics, prepared by the staff of
RBI and Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL),
or drawn from one of the recent publications of the Bank.

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4. Other Releases
i) Monetary Policy Statement;
ii) MPC minutes;
iii) Top Management Speeches/ Interviews;
iv) Working Group /Committee Reports;
v) Technical/Discussion Papers;
vi) Manuals;
vii) Vision Documents;
viii) Memorial Lectures;
ix) Monetary and Credit Information Review – monthly;
x) Official press releases/ notifications, articles; and
xi) Films, videos, comic books and other content on public awareness.

5. Daily Releases
The Bank issues press releases relating to its operations through its web-site for
use by market participants, wire agencies and other sections of media. Its daily
press release on money market operations of the previous day gives a summary
position of liquidity in the system to market participants. The results of the Liquidity
Adjustment Facility (LAF) and other liquidity operations are posted on the website
on the same day.

6. Database on Indian Economy (DBIE): RBI's Data Warehouse

The Bank generates and compiles a large volume of data on various aspects of the
economy, with focus on banking and financial markets. The scope and volume of
data released by the Bank has increased substantially over time and the manner of
their release has also changed from hard copy print to electronic version, including
through web-based interactive database.

All the detailed statistics released by the Bank are made available on its data
warehouse known as the ‘Database of Indian Economy’ (DBIE) portal
(https://dbie.rbi.org.in). DBIE allows users to (a) access data through pre-formatted
reports, where users can specify time period; and (b) create new data reports for
desired variables and time period from query facilities. All data could be downloaded
in Excel/CSV/PDF file format.
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